ABOUT THE BOOK

On 1 March 1979, voters went to the polls in Scotland’s first national referendum to decide whether to establish a Scottish Assembly, nearly three centuries after the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament in 1707. Held just two months before the general election that brought Margaret Thatcher to power, the referendum was Scotland’s first opportunity to determine the constitutional question that had dogged its politics for nearly a century and, as in 1997 and 2014, it shaped the country’s public life for a generation.

With both ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigners believing that it was “Now or Never”, the referendum forged extraordinary and fleeting compacts between politicians and activists from different political parties. Musicians, sportsmen and celebrities joined the campaign trail, as did poets, clergymen, women’s groups and City financiers. Campaigners dressed as William Wallace and ‘Major Block’ staged mock duels in major cities, while others organised dances and Burns Suppers and encouraged students to “Rock against Devolution”.

In this launch event for Now or Never!, Tom Chidwick will reveal the full story of the referendum, held in the dying days of James Callaghan’s Labour government, when Scotland failed to secure its Assembly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Chidwick manages the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London, UK which was founded by the historian and crossbench peer, Peter Hennessy. His research covers devolution, the politics of the 1970s and the British constitution. He has given interviews and commentary to a variety of media outlets including the BBC, France24 and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and previously wrote a fortnightly column for Scottish Review.